Architect Sells Hillsborough “Farmhouse” for $19 Million

A limited liability company has bought a 7,600-square-foot house remodeled by architect-investor Michael Kao in upscale Hillsborough for $18.8 million.

LilyPad 2024, a San Jose-based LLC tied to CPA Karen Valladao, purchased the newly rebuilt home at 760 Chiltern Road, according to the San Francisco Business Times and Robb Report.

The seller was Kao, founder of Houston-based Mak Studio, along with unidentified partners.

Kao and his investors bought the 1.1-acre property in 2021 for $6.6 million, then gutted its 1950 home, which now exists as a section of the new foundation.

The resulting renovation was billed as a Wine Country-inspired “modern farmhouse” surrounded by redwood, oak and olive trees, with a swimming pool and spa.

The white, single-story home resembles a series of connecting board-and-batten sheds, shorn of eaves. The minimalist home highlights work in steel, glass and white oak, with floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding glass doors.

The five-bedroom, seven-bathroom house has an office, game room, laundry room and gym with a sauna. There’s also an outdoor kitchen and fire pit.

“I wanted to create a modern-day farmhouse that sits in harmony with the environment,” Michael Kao told Robb. “[I envisioned designing the home for] a family with children that enjoys living both indoors and outdoors, who spend a tremendous amount of time together but require their spots for solitude.”

Broker Keri Nicholas of Parc Agency held the listing.

Nicholas said the home is a rare single-story find, as most builders don’t build this kind of house because it won’t bring a high price per foot.

“It is a riskier home to build, but something more and more buyers want,” Nicholas told the Business Times. “In my 30 years of experience, this is, without a doubt, the most exceptional home I have ever had the privilege of representing.”

Broker Phil Chen of Christie’s International Real Estate Sereno represented the buyer, the LLC linked to Valladao, a tax partner with Frank Rimerman & Company and based at the same San Jose address, according to state business records.

Last month, an affiliate of Scott Banister, the first investor and board member at PayPal, paid $23 million for the “Western White House,” a 1930 Julia Morgan-designed mansion built to resemble the presidential residence at the behest of George Hearst in the town of Hillsborough, The Real Deal reported.

— Dana Bartholomew